miamivicefandomcom-20200223-history
Hostile Takeover
"Hostile Takeover" is the fifth season premiere of Miami Vice. The episode premiered on November 4, 1988 and features the continuation of the "Sonny Burnett" story arc. Summary Crockett (still thinking he's Burnett) is in position to take over a drug cartel by manipulating the families to war with each other. It is the fourth episode of the Sonny Burnett Arc. Plot Oscar Carrera (Joe Santos) is having a birthday party for his trophy wife Celeste (Debra Feuer), while Carrera's son Miguel (Anthony Crivello) tries to explain about their sales being down, a rival cartel led by El Gato (Jon Polito) and his men are preparing for a hit. Carrera steps outside and talks to Sonny Burnett, who is working for him now, about how Miguel knows nothing (as well as his attorney David Sugarman (Paul Lazar)) even with his college degrees and how they know more because they actually worked. El Gato's men (dressed as waiters) walk into the party and begin shooting, Burnett shoots three of them down. Castillo is convinced a drug war is in the works, and reviews events since Miguel Manolo was in the picture. Manolo was assassinated by Cliff King (Matt Frewer) on the order of Carrera. King is a stone-cold killer and has connections, making him very valuable to Carrera. Intelligence also confirms Carrera and his son Miguel don't get along. El Gato is really Manolo's brother, Ernesto, who has sworn to avenge his brother's death, has begun moving into Carrera's market. Castillo wants everyone to lean on their contacts and see where the battle lines are drawn, and that Crockett/Burnett is wanted for Jimmy Hagovitch's murder and they lost sight of him after that. Tubbs tells Castillo he & Switek interviewed the help at the restaurant where the shootout went down and the description of the shooter that hit El Gato's men was that of Crockett/Burnett. Carrera's committee (who doesn't understand why the patriarch didn't retaliate for the birthday shooting) meet to discuss business, especially new boats to replace their older ones. Burnett agrees with the need for boats, but also discusses the downsides (DEA interdiction, pirating, etc.) Carrera insists on three boats, and refuses to hear anymore from Miguel about them. Burnett listens to Miguel's concerns and lets him know the two of them can hurt El Gato, and to see him when he's ready. King meets Burnett after meeting with Miguel to work together too, and that he controls the transportation. Castillo said an Army train was hit, with two soldiers killed, and stinger missiles were stolen...but they're not sure which side hit the train. Burnett hits El Gato's shooter, which causes him to swear revenge on the Carreras. Carrera talks to Miguel about ordering the hit, and challenges his son to fight...and King lost a bet to Burnett. El Gato finds out about Burnett who orders a hit on the former Vice cop. Miguel pressures his father to hit El Gato now, but Carrera continues to resist, saying that's not the way to do business. Miguel says his father is a coward and walks out, then King brings in Tubbs (as Cooper) who is stunned to see Crockett/Burnett there, and they discuss business. Alone, Tubbs tries to get through to Crockett by making suggestions about Caitlin and he starts to see memory fragments, then returns to his Burnett persona and shows Tubbs out. Miguel starts putting the moves on his stepmother by the pool while Burnett watches, plotting his next move. Burnett stands by the water and starts to see memory fragments of Tubbs, his son Billy, and Caitlin. Then sees Celeste come out of the water and they discuss her "act" around Miguel, with his overall plan to break apart the Carreras so he can take over as the head of the cartel. That night, Burnett & King go to meet the boat drivers and pilots to discuss his coup d'etat on the Carreras, so that the working men share in the profits, and they agree to work with Burnett. Back at the Carrera mansion, Miguel's father catches him & Celeste making out, and in the struggle Miguel shoots and kills him, while Burnett cooly picks up the gun. Miguel proceeds to take to the bottle after Carrera's funeral, angrily goes after Celeste blaming her for his father's death, and Burnett stops him, telling him he fixed the Coroner's report so it wasn't a murder, and has Celeste "baby-sit" with Miguel while he attends to business, meeting King's contact, Commandante Emilio Salazar (Victor Argo) who needs help with El Gato, who doesn't trust him, in exchange Burnett wants airstrip access and customs clearance. Burnett agrees to the deal, and returns to a slightly drunk Celeste who throws a champagne bottle at him, complains about him being gone, then they make out and Burnett carries her to the bedroom. Tubbs gets his good-faith money and lets Castillo know he will handle Crockett/Burnett if he "gets in the way". Miguel grabs a gun and prepares to kill Burnett for making love to Celeste, then the hitter hired by El Gato shoots from the brush and kills Miguel, then Burnett shoots the hitman down. Burnett meets Tubbs (as Cooper) in a lighthouse, lets him know he's running the show now, and Tubbs again tries to get through to Burnett/Crockett, he has his memory flashbacks, remembers he's Tubbs, and then shots ring out from the lighthouse they were meeting in. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett/Sonny Burnett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Debra Feuer as Celeste *Joe Santos as Oscar Carrera *Jon Polito as Ernesto "El Gato" Manolo *Anthony Crivello as Miguel Carrera *Paul Lazar as David Sugarman *Victor Argo as Commandante Emilio Salazar *Matt Frewer as Cliff King Co-Starring *Robert Escobar as Emilio *Gordon McConnell as Boyd *Raul San as Jesus *Anthony Bruce as Young Attorney *Anthony Correa as Accountant Notes *Tim Truman makes his debut as music contributor. His sound is a little grittier than the smooth synth vibes of his predecessor, Jan Hammer. Unlike Hammer, Truman's compositions have never been released on CD or in any form. *This is the final episode of Miami Vice ''directed by Don Johnson (he directed four over the series). *The fifth season started late due to a writer's strike that occurred earlier in the year. All series for the fall 1988 season were delayed because of the strike. *Crockett's hair is done up in a then-trendy ponytail -- it would be gone after the Sonny Burnett arc finished. *Castillo uses a ''very primitive (by today's standards) way of showing photos on a Mac computer. *The gritty and "envelope-pushing" tone of the fifth season began in this episode, with harsh language (such as the use of "bitch" and "bastard", uncommon in the 1980s) and a depiction of a homosexual relationship, only to have Burnett shoot down one of the lovers (who is El Gato's shooter). Though there were heavy implications of a homosexual relationship in the Season 4 episode "God's Work", this was the first time such a relationship was explicitly depicted. *It's interesting that El Gato (being Manolo's brother) did not know Burnett was a cop, since Manolo had suspicions before Burnett left his organization. It's possible that, despite El Gato's natural grief over his brother's death, the two never got on as siblings. (Of course the truth is most likely that the part of El Gato was not written until after "Mirror Image".) *A continuity error occurs when Castillo is reviewing events since "Mirror Image"; he refers to Manolo as Jose ''Manolo, not ''Miguel Manolo as he was in "Mirror." The same goes for James Hagovitch whom Castillo calls "James Yagovitch". Music *"Underneath The Radar" by Underworld (opening at party) *"Walk and Talk Like Angels" by Toni Childs (Celeste dancing by pool) Quotes *"You from around here, from Florida? You've been married?" -- Tubbs trying to jog Crockett's/Burnett's memory *"Muscle is for people who can't negotiate!" -- Burnett to King Category:Miami Vice Season 5 Episodes